Bowler{40 s wrist support

ABSTRACT

A bowler&#39;&#39;s wrist support preventing the wrist from bending outwardly when the bowler releases the ball comprising a thumb band portion, a rigid portion and a wrist band portion. The rigid portion has a core comprising an outer rigid member and an inner resilient member. Fastening members are placed so that the support is well positioned over the wrist and the hand irrespective of the size of the hand or thumb while the band portion leaves the palm of the hand free from encumbrances.

United States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,815,908 Hashimoto June 11, 1974 [5BOWLER'S WRIST SUPPORT 3.533407 10/1970 Smith 273/54 B ux s 9 3 [76]Inventor: Yoshio Hashimoto, 3-11, 2-chome 3598 408 H 7] f 27 /54 BSama-ku Kobe Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle p Attorney. Agent, orFirm-Browdy and Neimark [22] Filed: May 29, 1973 [211 Appl. No; 364,9211 71 ABSTRACT A bowlers wrist support preventing the wrist from 52 us.(:1. 273/54 B 2/161 A 128/165 bending outwardly when the releases the511 Int. Cl A631, 71/14 a humb band Portion, rigid POYtiO" and [58]Field of Search 273/54 B 89 2/16 a wrist band portion. The rigid portionhas a core 128/89 R comprising an outer rigid member and an innerresilient member. Fastening members are placed so that [56] ReferencesCited the support is well positioned over the wrist and the handirrespective of the size of the hand or thumb 3 238 939 Z SJ 273/54 B UXwhile the band portion leaves the palm of the hand tu s f f b 3,369,2582/1968 Smith 273/54 B X fee mm encum rance-S 3,512,776 5/1970 Thomas273/54 B 12 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJuu 1 1 Ian 3.815308SNEETIUF 3 PRIOR ART PATENIEDJuuumM 3.815908 SHEETEOFS FIG. 5

BOWLERS WRIST SUPPORT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto bowlers wrist supports and, more particularly, to a bowlers wristsupport to be fitted on the bowlers wrist in order to prevent the wristfrom bending outwardly when the bowler releases his ball.

Balls employed in bowling matches are quite heavy, so that the wrist ofthe hand holding a ball is often bent outwardly when releasing the ball.If the ball is thrown with the wrist bent outwardly, it is impossible toimpart a spinning action to the ball and the resultant throw is nothingother than a so-called haul, which is not effective in creating pinaction. Accordingly, a wrist support which permits the bowler to holdand release a ball properly, without the possibility of causing thewrist to be bent outward, has heretofore been desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART There are wrist support bands that havebeen proposed to meet this need. FIG. 1 shows a typical structure of theprior art wrist support band. It consists of a rigid portion Areinforced with a rigid plate, flexible portions B, and a thumbinsertion hole 1. In use, it is fitted on the wrist by inserting thethumb through the thumb insertion hole 1 and winding the band portions Baround the wrist with the rigid portion A placed on the outer side ofthe wrist. This wrist support band extant in the prior art is fairlyeffective in preventing the wrist from bending outward since a rigidplate is contained as a core member within the rigid portion A. However,it has some shortcomings. First, since the thumb insertion hole ispre-formed, this is often incompatible with the various sizes of bowlershands and the various thicknesses and lengths of bowlers thumbs. Sincebowling is played by all ages from children to adults, male or female,and the size of the hand varies with individual bowlers, in many casesthe rigid portion A cannot be placed well on the outer side of thewrist. In such cases, the intended use cannot be fully achieved. Second,while holding the ball it is not desir able for the palm to be coveredwith bands or the like, yet it is desirable to wind the band around thewrist as many turns as possible in order to secure the wrist supportband. But if the wrist is wound with the band portion of the prior artwrist support band, two or three turns, a majority of the palm iscovered, so that handling the ball becomes very difficult. On the otherhand, winding the band only one turn is insufficient to secure the wristsupport band. Third, as the band is wound, after the insertion of thethumb into the thumb insertion, it does not closely fit the hand butbecomes loose at the stem of the thumb (indicated at 2 in FIG. 1). Thisis very inconvenient for holding and throwing the ball. Fourth, it isdesirable for the rigid portion A to extend not only over the wrist butalso over the back of the hand to promote the effect of preventing thebending of the wrist, this cannot be achieved with the prior art wristsupport band. If the rigid portion A is increased such that it extendsover the back hand, the palm is wholly covered by the band portion B. Insuch a case, the ball cannot be smoothly held and thrown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A further object of the invention is to providea bowlers wrist support, which can be closely fitted on the wristwithout any loosening at the stem of the thumb.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bowlers wristsupport, whose rigid portion can extend not only over the wrist but alsoover the back of the hand, and nevertheless whose band portion will notcover the palm.

The above and other objects of the invention will become more apparentfromthe following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The unique features of theinvention, to achieve the above objects, reside in that the band portionhas a particular shape and that a thumb band is provided instead offorming a thumb insertion hole. These and other features of theinvention will be more fully understood from the following descriptionwith reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of the bowlers wrist supportaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the embodiment of FIG. 2 actually fitted on thewrist viewed from the outer side thereof;

FIG. 4 is a view of the same viewed from the inner side of the wrist;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another example of the bowlers wristsupport according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a view showing the embodiment of FIG. 6 actually fitted on thewrist viewed from the outer side thereof;

FIG. 8 is a view of the same viewed from the palm side.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a rigid member 9 enclosed within the rigidportion C;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line l1ll in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 10.

FIGS. 2 to 5 show one embodiment of the wrist support according to theinvention. It consists of a rigid portion C, a wrist band portion Djoined to the right hand edge of the portion C and a thumb band portionE joined to the left hand edge of the portion C. The rigid portion C isprovided on its upper portion with a hook fastening member 3. The rigidportion C consists of a front surface and a back surface of cloth,leather or a suitable packing material enclosing a core consisting of anouter rigid member 9 and an inner resilient member 10. While the rigidmember 9 may be a flat plate as shown in FIG. 5, it desirably has acurved configuration curved both longitudinally and laterally .as shownin FIGS. 9 to 12. The rigid member 9 has a length of to 18 cm, desirably8 to 14 cm., and a width of 3 to 7 cm. desirably 4 to 6 cm. The radiusof curvature of its longitudinal section of FIG. 11 is 250 to 3,000 mm.,desirably 500 to 1,500 mm., and the radius of curvature of its lateralsection of FIG. 12 is 30 to 1,000 mm., desirably 50 to 500 mm. The coreof this curved configuration permits the rigid portion to be closelyfitted on the wrist and back of the hand, so that it is particularlyuseful in preventing the outward bending of the wrist. Such a core hasnever been known heretofore, and it is newly developed by the inventor.The rigid member may be made of any material so long as it has arigidity enough to hold the wrist straight; for example, such well-knownmaterial as iron, or like metal such as steel and also various plasticmaterials may be effectively used.

The wrist band portion D joined to the rigid portion C has an importantfeature in its particular shape, which is shown in FIG. 2 in connectionwith the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 4 and-in'FIG. 6 in connection with theembodiment of FIGS. 6 to 8, but slight changes in its shape anddimensions are allowed.

For purposes of better describing and more particularly pointing out theparticular shape of the invention the following dimensions arespecified,

In FIGS. 2 or 6, the cross sectional lines 55 and S 9-9, that bisect therigid member and runs in a lengthwise direction, also serve as referencelines for specifying these preferred dimensions. h the shortest linethat can be drawn from a point at the top, or finger end, of the rigidportion along the long axis of the rigid member and terminating at thecenter of fastening member 3, is 1.5 to 7 cm., preferably 2 to 5 cm. hthe dimension running from the bottom, or arm end, junction of the rigidportion C with the wrist band portion D and terminating at a pointcorresponding to the bottom, or arm end, of the rigid portion, is 0.5 to8 cm., preferably 1 to 5 cm. h the shortest line that can be drawnbetween a point on the line passing through the center point offastening member 3 and perpendicular to reference line 55 or 9-9 and apoint corresponding to the top of finger end, junction of therigidportion C with the wrist band portion D, is 3 to 6 cm., preferably4 to 5 cm.. h.,, the length of the junction between the rigid portion Cand the wrist band portion D, is 4 to 7 cm., preferably 5 to 6 cm. 1,the shortest line running from a point on reference lines denominated5-5 and 9-9 and terminating at a point corresponding to the junction ofthe rigid portion C with the wrist band portion D, is 7 to 12 cm.,preferably 8 to 10 cm. Since the wrist band portion D has thisparticular shape, it will cover only the wrist portion even though therigid portion D covers the back of the hand, and the palm will not becovered even if it is wound two or three turns. Also, since the width ofthe wrist band portion D is quite smallcompared to the longitudinaldimension of the rigid portion C, the wrist will not be absolutely heldtight but can be bent inward to a slight extent (although it can not bebent outward). This is advantageous since considerable freedom isprovided for the handling of the ball.

This wrist band portion is provided on the back side of its free endportion with a hook fastening member 8. Also, it is provided on thefront side of its other tapered end portion joined to the rigid portionwith a hook fastening member 6 and on the back side of the same with apile fastening member 7.

The thumb band portion E also constitutes an important feature of theinvention. By the provision of this thumb band portion E the rigidportion C can be positioned over the wrist and back of the handirrespective of the size of the hand, and also it can be closely fittedand will not get loose even at the stem of the thumb. This thumb bandportion E is provided on the back side of its top end with a pilefastening member 4 and on the left corner of its lower portion with ahook fastening member 5.

The thumb band portion has a shape as shown in FIGS. 2 or 6, where theangle a, the acute angle formed by the junction of the line drawn thruthe center point of fastening member 4 and the center point of fasteningmember 5 and the line drawn thru the center point of fastening member 3and the center point of fastening member 5, is 45 to 85, preferably 60to As a fastening member Velcro, for example, may be suitably used.

To fit the bowlers wrist support according to the invention, the rigidportion C is placed on the back of the hand, and by winding the wristband portion D over the inner side of the wrist the pile fasteningmember 7 on the back side of the tapered end portion of the wrist bandportion and the hook fastening member 5 on the left corner of the lowerportion of the thumb band portion are fastened to each other. Then, thewrist band portion D is wound over the front side of the rigid portion Cand then over the inner side of the wrist, and it is fixed in positionby fastening the hook fastening member 6 on the front side of thetapered end portion of the wrist band portion D and the pile fasteningmember 8 on the back side of the free end portion of the wrist bandportion to each other. Finally, by winding the thumb band portion Earound the thumb the pile fastening member 4 on the back of the free endportion of the thumb band portion is fastened to hook fastening member 3on the upper portion of the rigid portion C.

When the bowlers wrist support according to the invention is fitted, thewrist will not bend outward and also it can be bent inward only to aslight extent, it is thus possible to give the ball a strong spinningaction so as to obtain a pin action of high strike efficiency.

Also, when the bowlers wrist support is fitted by winding around thewrist twice with the wrist band portion D and fastening the thumb bandportion E in conformity to the shape of the hand, the rigid portion C isclosely fitted over the wrist and back of the hand, so that a constantsupporting effect can be maintained without resulting in any looseningeffects even if the game is continued for a long time.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention and theinvention is not to be considered limited to what is shown in thedrawings and described in the specification.

What is claimed is:

1. A bowlers wrist support preventing the wrist from bending outwardlywhen the bowler releases the ball comprising a thumb band portion, arigid portion and a wrist band portion, the back and front of thesupport being defined by the back and front surfaces, respectively, ofsaid thumb band portion, rigid portion and wrist band portion, saidthumb band portion having a free end portion and an adjacent endportion, said adjacent end portion being joined to one edge of saidrigid portion, said wrist band portion having a free end portion and asecond portion, said second portion being joined to the opposite edge ofsaid rigid portion; said thumb band portion having fastening memberslocated on the back surface of said free end portion and the frontsurface of said adjacent end portion thereof; said rigid portioncomprising a core enclosed between said front and back surfaces thereof,said core comprising an outer rigid member and an inner resilientmember; a fastening member located on the front surface of the upper endof said rigid portion; and said wrist band portion having fasteningmembers located on the back surface of said free end portion and on thefront and back surfaces of said second end portion thereof.

2. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said outerrigid member of said core has a length ranging from 5 to 18 cm. and awidth ranging from 3 to 7 cm.

3. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said outerrigid member in said core is curved both in the direction of length andin the direction of width.

4. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 3 wherein said outerrigid member has a radius of curvature in the longitudinal directionranging from 250 to 3,000 mm. and a radius of curvature in the lateraldirection ranging from 30 to 1,000 mm.

5. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein the dimensioncorresponding to the shortest line that can be drawn between a point onthe line passing through the center point of said fastening member ofsaid rigid portion and perpendicular to the line bi secting in alengthwise direction said'outer rigid member of said core, and the pointcorresponding to the top of the junction of said rigid portion with saidwrist band portion, ranges from 3 to 6 cm.; wherein the length of thejunction between said rigid portion and said wrist band portion rangesfrom 4 to 7 cm., and wherein the dimension corresponding to the shortestline drawn from any point on the line bisecting in a lengthwisedirection said outer rigid member of said core and a point on thejunction of said rigid portion with said wrist band portion ranges from7 to 12 cm.

6. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein the dimensioncorresponding to the shortest line that can be drawn from a point at thetop of said rigid portion along the long axis of said outer rigid memberto a point corresponding to the center point of said fastening member onsaid rigid portion ranges from 1.5 to 7 cm;

7. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein thedimensioncorresponding to the line running from the bottom junction of said rigidportion with said wrist band portion and terminating at a pointcorresponding to the bottom of said rigid portion, ranges from 0.5 to 8cm.

8. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein the acuteangle formed by the junction of the line drawn thru the center points ofsaid fastening members of said thumb band portion and the line drawnthru the center point of said fastening member of said rigid portion andthe center point of said fastening member located on the front surfaceof said thumb band portion, ranges from 45 to 9. The bowlers wristsupport according to claim 1 wherein each of said fastening members isVelcro.

10. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said thumbband portion, said rigid portion and said wrist band portion areinitially integral to one another.

11. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said thumbband portion, said rigid portion and said wrist band portion are joinedto one another into a single structure.

12. The bowlers wrist support according to claim 1, wherein said thumbband portion, said rigid portion and said wrist band portion are joinedto one another at given positions into a single structure.

1. A bowler''s wrist support preventing the wrist from bending outwardlywhen the bowler releases the ball comprising a thumb band portion, arigid portion and a wrist band portion, the back and front of thesupport being defined by the back and front surfaces, respectively, ofsaid thumb band portion, rigid portion and wrist band portion, saidthumb band portion having a free end portion and an adjacent endportion, said adjacent end portion being joined to one edge of saidrigid portion, said wrist band portion having a free end portion and asecond portion, said second portion being joined to the opposite edge ofsaid rigid portion; said thumb band portion having fastening memberslocated on the back surface of said free end portion and the frontsurface of said adjacent end portion thereof; said rigid portioncomprising a core enclosed between said front and back surfaces thereof,said core comprising an outer rigid member and an inner resilientmember; a fastening member located on the front surface of the upper endof said rigid portion; and said wrist band portion having fasteningmembers located on the back surface of said free end portion and on thefront and back surfaces of said second end portion thereof.
 2. Thebowler''s wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said outer rigidmember of said core has a Length ranging from 5 to 18 cm. and a widthranging from 3 to 7 cm.
 3. The bowler''s wrist support according toclaim 1 wherein said outer rigid member in said core is curved both inthe direction of length and in the direction of width.
 4. The bowler''swrist support according to claim 3 wherein said outer rigid member has aradius of curvature in the longitudinal direction ranging from 250 to3,000 mm. and a radius of curvature in the lateral direction rangingfrom 30 to 1,000 mm.
 5. The bowler''s wrist support according to claim 1wherein the dimension corresponding to the shortest line that can bedrawn between a point on the line passing through the center point ofsaid fastening member of said rigid portion and perpendicular to theline bisecting in a lengthwise direction said outer rigid member of saidcore, and the point corresponding to the top of the junction of saidrigid portion with said wrist band portion, ranges from 3 to 6 cm.;wherein the length of the junction between said rigid portion and saidwrist band portion ranges from 4 to 7 cm., and wherein the dimensioncorresponding to the shortest line drawn from any point on the linebisecting in a lengthwise direction said outer rigid member of said coreand a point on the junction of said rigid portion with said wrist bandportion ranges from 7 to 12 cm.
 6. The bowler''s wrist support accordingto claim 1 wherein the dimension corresponding to the shortest line thatcan be drawn from a point at the top of said rigid portion along thelong axis of said outer rigid member to a point corresponding to thecenter point of said fastening member on said rigid portion ranges from1.5 to 7 cm.
 7. The bowler''s wrist support according to claim 1 whereinthe dimension corresponding to the line running from the bottom junctionof said rigid portion with said wrist band portion and terminating at apoint corresponding to the bottom of said rigid portion, ranges from 0.5to 8 cm.
 8. The bowler''s wrist support according to claim 1 wherein theacute angle formed by the junction of the line drawn thru the centerpoints of said fastening members of said thumb band portion and the linedrawn thru the center point of said fastening member of said rigidportion and the center point of said fastening member located on thefront surface of said thumb band portion, ranges from 45* to 85* . 9.The bowler''s wrist support according to claim 1 wherein each of saidfastening members is Velcro.
 10. The bowler''s wrist support accordingto claim 1 wherein said thumb band portion, said rigid portion and saidwrist band portion are initially integral to one another.
 11. Thebowler''s wrist support according to claim 1 wherein said thumb bandportion, said rigid portion and said wrist band portion are joined toone another into a single structure.
 12. The bowler''s wrist supportaccording to claim 1, wherein said thumb band portion, said rigidportion and said wrist band portion are joined to one another at givenpositions into a single structure.